Schools should acknowledge 9/11 Remembrance Day in the classroom this year

With the 20^th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks coming this week, State Senator Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. wants to remind schools that it is important to teach students about the events that took place that day and how it changed the world.

In 2019, Addabbo passed the September 11th Remembrance Day bill, which was signed into law and establishes a day of remembrance, reflection and a brief moment of silence in New York State’s public schools to remember the thousands of lives that were lost on that fateful day.

Unfortunately, on September 11 during the 2020 school year, students and teachers were still adjusting to the remote learning process, so it was difficult for many classrooms to implement the moment of silence and teaching moment.

“Students in our high schools and elementary schools were not alive on September 11, 2001 so I feel it is important for them to understand the magnitude of that day and how it impacted our lives here in New York, and across the world, forever,” Addabbo explained. “Although that day is marked by an incredible sadness, it is also a showcase of the incredible bravery of the first responders — many who made the ultimate sacrifice — and how everyone came together to help in the aftermath.”

With September 11 being on a Saturday this year and most classrooms starting up after that date, Addabbo hopes that teachers are able to take some time thereafter to discuss the tragic events of 9/11 in their own way.

“By having a September 11^th Remembrance Day in our schools, we honor the lives that were lost in the attack on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, as well as recognize our veteran’s global fight against terrorism,” Addabbo added. “It will help us live up to the promise we made to never forget.”